Byeokje Galbi is a korean galbi restaurant in Seocho Gu, Seoul.
In the Michelin Guide and on 50Best Discovery, Byeokje Galbi has served premium charcoal-grilled hanwoo short ribs since 1986, handling its own butchery.
Signature dishes: Charcoal galbi, Hanwoo ribeye
Must order: Galbi (short ribs) over charcoal: the restaurant sources top 1% graded hanwoo, butchered in-house and cut to the bone.
Tip: Book the private room for groups; the galbi course includes side dishes and a naengmyeon to close.
Address: 89 Donggwang-ro, Seocho-gu, Seoul
Family-run since 1953, Ojangdong serves Hamheung-style cold noodles: the noodles are made from potato starch and are notably chewier than Pyongyang-style.
Signature: Bibim naengmyeon, Mul naengmyeon
Order: Bibim naengmyeon: chewy starch noodles in a sweet-spicy sauce with cold beef slices and a halved boiled egg.
Tip: Cut the noodles with scissors if you prefer shorter strands; the kitchen leaves them long by tradition.
The original Maple Tree House, in a restored hillside house in Samcheong-dong, with a more intimate setting than the Itaewon branch and a view of the old.
Signature: Hanu beef, Samgyeopsal
Order: Hanwoo beef tasting set: three cuts of heritage Korean cattle served in the original house that started the Maple Tree brand.
Tip: The Samcheong branch has fewer tourist crowds than Itaewon on weekday lunchtimes.
Hadongkwan has been open since 1939 in Myeongdong and is in the Michelin Guide for a bowl of seolleongtang that has not changed: slow-cooked ox bone.
Signature: Seolleongtang
Order: Seolleongtang: ox-bone broth cooked until milky-white without additives, with sliced brisket and rice on the side.
Tip: The kitchen closes at 15:30 sharp; arrive for an early lunch to guarantee a bowl.
Korea's first registered restaurant, open since 1904 in Jongno, still serving a single dish: 17-hour ox bone seolleongtang with sliced brisket.
Signature: Seolleongtang
Order: Seolleongtang: 17-hour ox bone broth poured over sliced beef and soft wheat noodles, seasoned only with salt at the table.
Tip: Season the broth yourself with the salt provided; adding too much at once is the only mistake you can make.
A hanok courtyard dumpling kitchen in Bukchon, selling hand-formed mandu (dumplings) by the basket to a patient queue of Seoulites who find the 20-minute.
Signature: Steamed mandu, Mandu guk
Order: Steamed mandu (dumplings) with kimchi and pork filling, thin pleated skin, eaten with a dipping soy and vinegar.
Tip: The mandu guk (dumpling soup) is only slightly more expensive and adds a clear anchovy broth that makes it a meal.
Hongik Sutbul Galbi runs a charcoal-grill galbi room a block from Hongik University's main gate, with thick-cut marinated short rib and pork belly cooked over binchotan rather than gas burners.
Signature: Charcoal-grilled marinated galbi, Samgyeopsal
Order: Charcoal-grilled yangnyeom galbi (marinated short rib): sweet soy and pear marinade with the meat cooked over real binchotan, wrapped in lettuce with ssamjang.
Tip: Ask for both yangnyeom (marinated) and saeng (fresh-cut) galbi to taste the marinade contrast; the kitchen sets the grill to the right charcoal heat.
